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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Sunshine (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Sunshine. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Sunshine is located in Hancock County.

To see how the shape of Maine's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hancock County: Penobscot, Waldo & Washington.

Below are the counties that are near Sunshine. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunshine:

  • Hancock County     (The home county of Sunshine)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Mountainville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Mountainville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainville
    • Oceanville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Oceanville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oceanville
    • Brooklin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Haven
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Haven is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haven
    • Stonington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Isle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Sunset
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Atlantic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Atlantic is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
    • North Brooklin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • North Brooklin is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brooklin
    • Sedgwick
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Swans Island
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Little Deer Isle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Minturn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Minturn is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minturn
  • Knox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Isle Au Haut
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • North Haven
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Pulpit Harbor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Pulpit Harbor is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulpit Harbor
    • Vinalhaven
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Camden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Owls Head
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Rockport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Glen Cove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Glen Cove is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Cove
    • Lake City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Lake City is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
    • Matinicus Isle Plantation
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Matinicus Isle Plantation is located in Knox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matinicus Isle Plantation
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Rockland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Matinicus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • West Rockport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.
    • Islesboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islesboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • North Islesboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • North Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Islesboro
    • Northport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincolnville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • East Northport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • East Northport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Northport
    • Sandy Point
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Searsport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Stockton Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Belfast
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincolnville Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bryants Corner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Bryants Corner is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants Corner
    • Prospect Ferry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
    • Prospect
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunshine, see our County-by-County Page for Sunshine.

Cemeteries Near Sunshine ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunshine.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Sunshine - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunshine covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.

  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Reach Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Freethy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Brooklin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Adams Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Carters Point Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Ephraim Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (189 more) ...
    • Turners Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Forest Home Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Birchland Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

While we didn't find Sunshine in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunshine.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunshine, with the one closest to Sunshine listed first.

  • Oceanville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Oceanville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oceanville
  • Brooklin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • South Deer Isle
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • South Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Deer Isle
  • Deer Isle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • North Deer Isle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • North Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Deer Isle
  • Sunset
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Sedgwick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Swans Island
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Atlantic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Atlantic is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
  • North Brooklin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • North Brooklin is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brooklin
  • Sargentville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sargentville is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargentville
  • North Sedgwick
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • North Sedgwick is located in Hancock County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sedgwick
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • West Tremont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Seal Cove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • South Blue Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • South Blue Hill is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blue Hill

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunshine. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunshine.

Newspapers Published in Sunshine ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunshine.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunshine, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunshine.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Sunshine:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sunshine) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Sunshine, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.